Living in TTP Town · The Practical Guide
The honest guide to renting in TTP Town. Prices, streets, landlords, and what nobody tells you until after you've signed.
TTP Town is still significantly cheaper than BKK1 — but the direction has shifted. After several years of steady increases, rents have
softened as new supply — particularly condos — has entered the market faster than demand. Asking prices have not always followed immediately,
but negotiated prices often have.
A one-bedroom apartment that once pushed towards $500 at the peak is now frequently agreed lower depending on the building, the
landlord, and how long the unit has been sitting empty. Budget accordingly, but treat listing prices as a starting point rather than a fixed number.
| Type | Monthly range | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / local room | $150–$250 | Basic, often older building. AC, fridge, concrete kitchen counter. Fine for short stays or tight budgets — check water pressure and (the possibility of) internet before committing. |
| 1-bedroom local apartment | $200–$400 | The sweet spot for most long-term residents. Varies enormously by building age, street, and landlord. Some are genuinely good. Some look only good in photos. |
| 1-bedroom serviced | $450–$600 | Includes cleaning, sometimes utilities. More reliable infrastructure. Less character. Better if you're on a short-term contract or don't want to deal with anything. |
| 2-bedroom local | $400–$650 | Good value if you share. Space varies wildly. Older buildings often have better layouts than newer ones. There might be a second bathroom! |
| 2-bedroom serviced / condo | $600–$900 | New-build condos entering the market. Modern finishes, gym, pool on top. Different atmosphere from the rest of TTP Town. Not for everyone. |
TTP Town is small enough to walk across in twenty minutes, but the streets are not equal. Here's what matters.
The smaller numbered streets running east-west — off the main corridors — tend to be quieter, shadier, and better for working from home. Worth the slightly longer walk to the market.
Streets close to the main market entrance get significant foot and motorbike traffic from early morning. The noise is part of the neighbourhood's character — but check at 7am and at 10pm (oh, that's a really noisy beer garden next door?) before you sign anything.
Several streets in the southwest and east of the neighbourhood flood during heavy rain. The Stinky River (or Poop Canal, or Smelly Creek, lining Street 105) is prone to overflood with all its contents from BKK1. It's not catastrophic — usually clears in a few hours — but ground-floor apartments on these streets are a specific experience. Ask which streets flood. Landlords know. They won't always tell you unprompted.
Local apartments are the majority of TTP Town's rental stock. These are buildings owned by Khmer landlords, often family-managed, with varying levels of maintenance and reliability. They range from excellent to genuinely bad. No elevator to the 6th floor. The quality of your experience depends heavily on the landlord.
Serviced apartments include cleaning, sometimes laundry, and more reliable maintenance. They cost more and feel less like living in the neighbourhood — more like a long-stay hotel. Good for short contracts or people who don't want to manage anything themselves.
New condos are entering TTP Town from the south. Modern finishes, gyms, pools, 24-hour security. The infrastructure is better. The atmosphere is different. If you want TTP Town because of what it is, these are probably not what you're looking for.
Most leases in TTP Town are informal by Western standards — a one-page document in Khmer and English, or sometimes just a verbal agreement with a WhatsApp confirmation. This is normal. It doesn't mean you have no recourse, but it does mean the relationship with your landlord matters more than the paperwork.
Standard security deposits range from one to two months' rent, though some landlords may request three. While monthly payments are standard, they can occasionally attract a small premium; conversely, paying quarterly or semi-annually in advance can often secure a significant discount. If you utilize an agent, they receive one month’s rent as a fee which you will not recover.
To prevent the disputes that frequently arise over money, you should get the deposit terms in writing—specifically the conditions and timing of its return. Ultimately, a rental contract is only considered legally legitimate if it bears the thumbprint of a Sangkat official who was present alongside you and the landlord. If not, your landlord can kick you out whenever he pleases.
Electricity in Cambodia is billed per unit, and landlords often charge above the official EDC rate — sometimes significantly above. Ask before you sign what the per-unit charge is. The official EDC rate for residential use is around 880 riel per kWh. Anything above 1,200 riel ($0.30) is worth pushing back on, unless you see clean hallways and an actual security guard at night. You pay along for that.
Water is usually included or minimal. Internet quality varies by building and provider — fibre is available in most of TTP Town now, but the in-building installation matters. Ask to test the connection, not just see the router. Ask if you can have your own internet provider connected too.
Air conditioning is the main electricity cost. If you're running it heavily, budget $75–$120/month on top of rent in the hottest months.
Most landlords in TTP Town are fine. Some are genuinely good — responsive, fair on deposits, willing to fix things. A minority are not, and identifying which category you're dealing with before you pay a deposit is worth the effort.
Signs of a good landlord: lives nearby or has a reliable caretaker on site. Has other long-term tenants you can speak to. Is specific about what's included and what isn't. Responds to messages.
Signs to watch: unwilling to give you a written agreement of any kind. Vague about the deposit return process. No other tenants visible in the building. Pressure to decide quickly.
The expat community in TTP Town is small enough that landlord reputations travel. Ask around before you commit to anything above $400/month.
Come back at 7am and at 10pm. The noise profile of a TTP Town street changes completely. What feels calm at 2pm is a different place at 6am when the market deliveries start, or at 10pm when the Khmer deejay in the beer garden next door kicks off on a Monday night.
Run the shower. Older buildings on higher floors sometimes have genuinely bad water pressure. It is not something that gets better.
Ask for the WiFi password and run a speed test. Not the landlord's phone — yours. If they won't let you, you know why.
Directly. "Does this street flood in rainy season?" If the answer is evasive, assume yes.
Even a WhatsApp message confirming the amount and return conditions is better than nothing.
The TTP Town rental market is not on Rightmove. Most apartments are found through three channels — and none of them involve a slick interface.
Look for the latest active Housing of Expat groups in Phnom Penh. There are dozens of them. Post in them what you're looking for — budget, size, preferred streets — and you'll get responses within hours. Landlords and agents both post here regularly. Filter by date and ignore anything older than two weeks.
The single most effective method. TTP Town is small. Walk the streets you want to live on and look for handwritten "For Rent" signs — often just a phone number on a piece of cardboard taped to the gate. These are direct-from-landlord and frequently better value than anything listed online. Do this on a weekday morning when landlords are around.
Realestate.com.kh is the main listing site. Inventory is patchy and listings go stale, but they're useful for calibrating what a fair price looks like before you start viewing. Filter by district — Chamkar Mon covers most of TTP Town.
Not a joke. TTP Town's expat community is small and the information network is fast. Tell the person next to you at the Tin Hat Bar or The Deck that you're looking for a one-bedroom on Street 440 and there's a reasonable chance they know someone who's about to leave one. This works more often than it should.
Several small local agencies operate in TTP Town. They typically charge half a month's rent as commission. Worth using if you're arriving without much lead time and need something quickly. Ask other residents for recommendations rather than googling — quality varies significantly.
Before you commit remotely
Don't pay a deposit on an apartment you haven't physically visited. Photos are not reliable. If you're arriving from abroad, book a guesthouse or hotel for your first week and find your apartment on the ground. One week of looking in person will get you a better apartment at a better price than six weeks of looking online.